A Little Bit Of Joy | ✔

Chapter Eleven : The Boy's Soft Touch

"Ah, put it in the box, quick!" I shrieked with laughter as Jamal threw the small crab in the box and Gemma hurriedly shut it. Jamal started breathing heavily while dramatically acting to wipe the imaginary sweat on his forehead. Gemma peered into the box, we had caught four small crabs and the thrill of catching them was still surging through our bodies.

Logan was sprawled under a palm tree nearby, leaning against the trunk with his legs fully stretched out and arms casually spread on either side of his body. His eyes were closed peacefully and his head was tilted upwards. The rays of the sun fell over his face and the shadow of the leaves above made the light on his face appear in stripes, which made him look so aesthetically pleasing without even trying.

"Hey, Logan!" I called out and watched his eyes flutter open as he blinked rapidly at me like he had snapped out of a trance. He always did that. He then scrambled to sit erect and his hands dug in the sand in full alert. "You alright?"

As realization slowly sank in him, he nodded faintly, the grip of the sand in his hands loosening and he rubbed his eyes.

"We should probably go by now, it's time!" I shouted so he could hear clearly and I could see him squinting because of the bright sunlight on his face. I took a glimpse of the box to which Jamal was pointing at a crab in and chatting keenly about it with Gemma who listened with fascination glittering in her eyes. "Logan, we caught these crabs in the box, you want to see?"

Logan immediately shrank back in disgust as I was about to lift the box.

"Dude, you're afraid of crabs," Jamal jibed at Logan and Logan shot him a fierce glare.

"He hates all crawling creatures, I guess. He was even appalled by Fred, my poor worm!" I pointed out and Jamal's own nose scrunched up in disgust.

"That slimy shit's nasty though, I don't blame our flower boy," Jamal remarked and my lips pursed into a thin line. "Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing Gemmie baby?"

"Don't call my sister that," I muttered when my sister's cheeks turned scarlet, but she stopped halfway to liberate the crabs.

"Aw, someone's jealous," Jamal mocked me and winked. "Aye, but really, what's your dear sis doing?"

"She's letting out the crabs," I replied and Gemma gaped at us as if asking whether she could release them. "Go ahead, Jamie talks nonsense."

"He doesn't talk nonsense," she murmured in a protesting tone which made Jamal smirk and a spark of shock travelled through my body. Gemma would never disagree with me and this took me by surprise. A part of me felt proud that she was learning to find her own voice, but another part of me felt an absurd feeling that she had sided with Jamal. I didn't want her to get too attached to him like she had gotten attached to me, because when he would leave her after me, she would break completely.

"Don't let my food go, I was waiting for a crab stew, girl!" Jamal cried out and I swear the crabs had suddenly picked up their pace at Jamal's words to escape since they hurriedly disappeared into the sand.

"They're very small Jamie, almost the size of a big spider and I'm not even sure if it's edible," I explained and then from the corner of my eye, I noticed Logan tapping at his watch. "Anyway, we have to be back at the shop, we're running late. Bye!"

I turned around and jogged towards Logan. I took one last glimpse of Gemma by looking over my shoulder and I saw her staring at the vast ocean. Jamal was trying to dig out the crabs again by inserting a stick in the hole while Gemma remained quiet. Her black hair cascading down her back and swaying due to the wind as she rubbed her arms. I couldn't see the expression on her face because her back was turned to me, but she radiated an odd sense of maturity.